Joseph Maher

---

title: "Joseph Maher" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1933-births", "1998-deaths", "deaths-from-brain-cancer-in-california", "drama-desk-award-winners", "irish-emigrants-to-the-united-states", "irish-male-film-actors", "irish-male-stage-actors", "irish-male-television-actors", "irish-male-voice-actors", "people-from-westport,-county-mayo", "20th-century-irish-male-actors", "actors-from-county-mayo"] description: "Irish actor (1933–1998)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Maher" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Irish actor (1933–1998) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
name	Joseph Maher
image	Joseph Maher "Second Chance" (1987 FOX press photo).jpg
caption	Maher as St. Peter in Second Chance,
alt
birth_name	Joseph Sylvester Maher
birth_date
birth_place	Westport, County Mayo, Ireland
death_date
death_place	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
resting_place	Aughaval Cemetery
occupation	{{Plainlist
years_active	1959–1998
::

| name = Joseph Maher | image = Joseph Maher "Second Chance" (1987 FOX press photo).jpg | caption = Maher as St. Peter in Second Chance, | alt = | birth_name = Joseph Sylvester Maher | birth_date = | birth_place = Westport, County Mayo, Ireland | death_date = | death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S. | resting_place = Aughaval Cemetery | occupation = {{Plainlist|

• Actor
• Playwright
• Theatre director | years_active = 1959–1998

Joseph Sylvester Maher (29 December 1933 – 17 July 1998) was an Irish actor, playwright, and occasional theatre director. He was best known for his roles in the comedies of Joe Orton. He received three Tony Award nominations for his roles in the plays Spokesong, Night and Day, and Loot, with the last winning him a Drama Desk Award. His other accolades included an Obie Award and a Laurence Olivier Award nomination.

Early life

Maher was born in Westport, County Mayo, Ireland, on 29 December 1933. He was one of ten children born to Delia A. (née O'Malley) and Joseph Maher Sr., a schoolteacher.

Maher immigrated to Canada in 1956 and in his youth worked for an oil company. He started acting with the Canadian Players and performed across Canada for three years before moving to New York.

Career

Maher's Broadway theatre credits include The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, King Henry V, The Royal Family, Night and Day, and Loot.

Maher's film credits include For Pete's Sake, Heaven Can Wait, Time After Time, Just Tell Me What You Want, I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can, The Evil That Men Do, Frankenweenie, My Stepmother is an Alien, Sister Act, Funny Farm, I.Q., In & Out, The Shadow, Mars Attacks! and The Out-of-Towners.

Maher's appearances on television included roles in the soap operas Guiding Light and Another World. He also guest-starred in several other TV series including MAS*H, Wonder Woman, When Things Were Rotten, Ellery Queen, St. Elsewhere, ALF, Gimme a Break!, Moonlighting, Thirtysomething, Murder, She Wrote, Seinfeld, Tales from the Crypt and Chicago Hope.

Death

Maher died of a brain tumor at his home in Los Angeles, California, on 17 July 1998, at age 64. He was buried at Aughaval Cemetery in his hometown of Westport, County Mayo.

Partial filmography

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1966	Passages from James Joyce's Finnegans Wake	Celebrant
1972	It Ain't Easy	Charlie
1974	For Pete's Sake	Mr. Coates
1975	MAS*H	Major Taylor	S3, E17, The Consultant
1976	Diary of the Dead	Walter Johnson
1978	Heaven Can Wait	Sisk
1979	Time After Time	Adams
1980	Just Tell Me What You Want	Dr. Coleson
1980	Those Lips, Those Eyes	Fibby Geyer
1981	Going Ape!	Gridley
1981	Under the Rainbow	The Duke
1982	I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can	Doctor Kalman
1984	The Evil That Men Do	Molloch
1984	Frankenweenie	Mr. Chambers	Short
1986	Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp	Sultan	Episode 23, Faerie Tale Theatre
1987	Gimme A Break!	Professor Dudley
1988	Funny Farm	Michael Sinclair
1988	My Stepmother is an Alien	Lucas Budlong
1988	ALF	Angel Bob	Season 3, Episode 2 - "Stairway to Heaven"
1990	The Local Stigmatic	David
1991	Seinfeld	Gavin Polone	Season 3, Episode 4 - "The Dog"
1992	Sister Act	Monsignor O'Hara
1993	Partners	Edward Hooper	TV movie
1994	Killer	Dr. Alstricht
1994	The Shadow	Isaac Newboldt
1994	I.Q.	Nathan Liebknecht
1994	Murder, She Wrote	Nigel Allison	Season 11, Episode 2 - "Amsterdam Kill"
1996	Surviving Picasso	Kahnweiler
1996	Mars Attacks!	White House Decorator
1996 - 1997	Goode Behavior	Chancellor Willoughby	22 episodes
1997	In & Out	Father Tim
1998	OK Garage	Lilly
1998	Hoods	Dr. Alstrich
1999	The Out-of-Towners	Mr. Wellstone	(final film role)
::

Awards and nominations

::data[format=table title="Major associations"]

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result
1977	22nd Village Voice Obie Awards	Distinguished Performance by an Actor	Savages
1979	33rd Tony Awards	Best Featured Actor in a Play	Spokesong
1980	34th Tony Awards	Night and Day
1986	40th Tony Awards	Loot
31st Drama Desk Awards	Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play
1991	15th Laurence Olivier Awards	Comedy Performance of the Year	What the Butler Saw
::

Notes

References

References

1. Applebome, Peter. (21 July 1998). "Joseph Maher, Versatile Character Actor, Is Dead at 64".
2. "Joseph Maher Biography".
3. Oliver, Myrna. (22 July 1998). "Joseph Maher, 64; TV, Screen and Stage Actor".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::